24 | OCTOBER 10 • 2024 J
N

I

n August 1986, a group of women 
— including members of Detroit 
Women’s Forum (DWF) — staged 
a unique protest outside the Detroit 
Athletic Club (DAC). The social club, 
then open to white men only, was 
founded in 1887 and housed since 
1913 in a grand, six-story Albert Kahn-
designed building on Madison Street 
in Downtown Detroit. Many Detroiters 
objected to their exclusion from a 
club known for its advantageous 
networking opportunities. 
The last straw for these activist 
women came when they heard about 
the club’s treatment of Detroit City 

Council President Maryann Mahaffey. 
The late Mahaffey was an important 
civic leader that some of them knew 
personally. DAC policy at the time 
prohibited women from entering 
through the building’s front door. The 
club doorman instructed Mahaffey, an 
invited speaker, to use the building’s 
side “Ladies’ Entrance,
” which she 
declined to do. 
The women decided to place piles 
of high-heeled shoes at entrances to 
the DAC. Next to their “gifts,
” notes 
were left that included this one: “The 
real heels are in the DAC.
” The upshot 
was that the club’s directors changed 

their constitution one month later in 
September 1986 to allow women to 
become full voting members.
Harriet Saperstein’s story brought 
an appreciative response from those 
attending a spring luncheon held to 
celebrate the Forum’s 50th anniversary. 
Saperstein, 87, among the founding 
members of DWF, was one of 
several speakers sharing 
reminiscences about 
the organization. Board 
member Arlene Frank, 
DWF chair for 13 years, 
presided over the event 
held May 10 at Sindbad’s 
Restaurant and Marina in 
Detroit. Jennifer Moldwin Gustafson is 
the Forum’s current chair.

ITS JEWISH BEGINNINGS
Detroit Women’s Forum began as 
a project of the American Jewish 
Committee, an organization concerned 
with domestic issues. Detroit’s AJC, 
(which was merged with Detroit’s 
Jewish Community Relations Council 
July 2016-June 2024) rented office 
space in the Fred M. Butzel Building — 
now the Grand Valley State University 

Detroit Center — on Madison, near 
the DAC. At the time, the Butzel 
Building was headquarters of the 
Jewish Welfare Federation. Since 1992, 
the Jewish Federation of Detroit and 
tenants have been located in the Max 
M. Fisher Federation Building in 
Bloomfield Township.
Saperstein, a retired urban planner, 
went to an AJC-sponsored 
luncheon program in 
1974 to hear a woman 
speaker discuss issues 
related to the lives of blue-
collar women.
“Several of us in the 
audience were interested 
in following up with other 
such talks,
” Saperstein said, leading 
to their meeting with AJC Director 
Sherwood “Woody” Sandweiss and 
Ruth Driker Kroll, the agency’s 
assistant director. As a result, Kroll 
began administering a new kind of 
women’s group. AJC’s “Thinking 
Women’s Network,
” now the tagline for 
Detroit Women’s Forum, was intended 
to reach an audience of women going 
beyond the Jewish community. 
Women from all walks of life — 
representing different professions, 
races, religions, cultures, beliefs and 
experiences — were and are welcome 
to join the Forum and attend its 
programs. DWF promotes advocacy 
and discussions by and for women. 
Attendees gain insights about 
women in the arts, politics, labor 
unions and other worlds that might 
be unfamiliar to them. The group has 
hosted theatrical and arts presentations 
and holiday and cultural events. (See 
schedule on page 27 for the new season 
of programs.)
“I thought Detroit Women’s Forum 
was a great idea,
” said Kathleen Straus 
of Detroit, then the first woman 
director of AJC’s Detroit Chapter. 
At age 100, she fondly recalls the 
beginnings of her beloved DWF.
The new group’s founding happened 
during a national recession, a time 
when the inequities of unemployment 
were most likely to affect women who 
were poor, minority and/or heads of 
household. Other women were afraid 
of losing hard-earned rights and being 

A Network for 
Thinking Women

Detroit Women’s Forum marks 50 years 
of monthly luncheons to inform 
and empower women.

ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

OUR COMMUNITY

Harriet 
Saperstein

Arlene 
Frank

Detroit Women’s 
Forum Chair Jennifer 
Gustafson with 
longtime DWF 
members Marjorie 
Lynn, Gerrie Barkley 
and Kathleen Straus 
at The Whitney

